Statements

Mission

The League of Women Voters of Nashville is a nonpartisan group that conducts voter service and citizen education activities including building citizen participation in the democratic process, studying key community issues, seeking positive solutions to public policy through education and conflict management.

Background

The League of Women Voters began as a national organization in 1920 in a burst of optimism that pre-dated the actual passage of the women's suffrage amendment by six months. Tennessee played a key role in women's suffrage by becoming the 36th and final state to ratify the 19th Amendment. The final dramatic chapter of that process occurred in Nashville over 100 years ago. Since then, the League of Women Voters of Tennessee and its affiliated local chapters, such as the League of Women Voters of Nashville, have played important roles as non-partisan advocates for sound governmental policies, such as sunshine laws. The momentous 'one man, one vote' Supreme Court ruling that dramatically changed the ways that states handled re-districting was spurred on, in large part, by LWV; Nashville's Molly Todd served as one of the plaintiffs for the case. In 1974, the organization split its dual roles by creating two entities in order to separate out its educational mission from its advocacy efforts. The League of Women Voters of Tennessee Education Fund (a 501(c)(3) non-profit organization) is dedicated solely to voter registration, voter information, and providing resources to support an informed electorate about a variety of issues of community interest. Separate funding streams for LWV Tennessee and LWV Nashville (501(c)(4) non-profit organization) give us the opportunity to lobby the state legislature for public policies that the membership has thoroughly studied and endorsed such as adequate health care resources for Tennesseans and elimination of voter suppression measures.

Impact

The LWV of Nashville has used funds during the past years to accomplish the following:
• Provided voters with non-partisan information about upcoming elections and candidates through www.Vote411.org
• Hosted community-wide forums and events for candidates running for public office
• Conducted voter registration and distributed voter education resources
• Hosted community programs with local experts on topics impacting current public policies
• Commissioned an original ballet choreographed by Gina Patterson and performed by the Nashville Ballet to tell the story of the passage of the 19th Amendment

Needs

• Translating voter materials into other languages
• Resources to connect with and support reluctant voters
• Marketing for Vote411 to reach underserved communities with election information

CEO Statement

Not applicable

Board Chair Statement

In the politically charged environment in which we live, the League of Women Voters has a unique non-partisan role. We have built a reputation by providing the public with accurate, unbiased information and creating opportunities for civic engagement. We are a group of committed volunteers doing work in the community including observing public meetings, voter registration, and voter outreach. We know that registering voters is the "easy" task. We want to connect with and support community members to help them understand that their voice in our democratic processes is important and encourage them to take the next important step to actually show up and vote. The next few years will be vitally important to the future of Nashville, and we must encourage voters to participate in local elections as well as federal and presidential elections. With your support, we can meet our goals!

Service Categories
Primary Category:	Civil Rights, Social Action, Advocacy  - Voter Education/Registration
Secondary Category:	Community Improvement, Capacity Building  - Community Improvement, Capacity Building N.E.C.
Tertiary Category:	Public & Societal Benefit  - Citizen Participation

Areas Served

LWV Nashville serves Davidson County and surrounding metropolitan area.

TN - Davidson